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Metal Gear Solid 4 CES Update

Sony's booth at the Consumer Electronics Show was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people, with gorgeous high-def TVs pouring light onto the crowds from all sides. Amid all the commotion, it was almost easy to miss the Metal Gear Solid 4 playable demo... but that's just the way Snake likes to operate.

Turns out what was playable on the show floor was virtually identical to the English demo that gamers were able to get their hands on at the E For All expo this past fall. See our earlier hands-on for a blow-by-blow account of the action. Although we were told the demo has been tweaked since then, the differences weren't apparent. CQC (Close Quarters Combat) was still tricky, and the Octo-Camo system was still awesome.

A couple things struck us as we revisited the Middle Eastern maps depicted in the demo. For one, the next Medal Gear game is going to be a lot more challenging than what gamers might be used to. The convenient on-screen radar, showing you where the enemies are and which direction they're facing, is gone. Instead you've got a glowing "threat ring" that shimmers around Solid Snake as you explore the level, highlighting the direction of nearby enemies and their relative awareness. This is an intuitive system but it's tricky; you've got to really pay attention to your surroundings to make sure you won't be seen by enemy troops or turrets. In the demo, there's a pesky APC vehicle that'll make short work out of Solid Snake if he thinks he can just rush across an open stretch of road.

The other thing evident in the demo levels -- that we hope will be consistent throughout the game experience -- is that every area is loaded with nooks and crannies and places to sneak through. Pay close attention and you'll spot narrow alleyways to shimmy through, gaps in the floor to crawl through, or debris to climb over. If you approach each area with your eyes wide open, you can spot all sorts of ways to traverse behind, above, or around your enemies... or you can find areas where you can cleanly pick them off without their buddies catching on.

Although the demo objectives were pretty linear, you had some flexibility in how you approach going from point A to point B, and that gives the game a lot of appeal.

Also appealing? The Octo-Camo system. This time around it's all automatic, so all you have to do is press yourself against a surface and Solid Snake's armor will ripple and shift until it matches its pattern. Even tile mosaic patterns will faithfully replicate themselves all over your body. Graphically, the effect is cool. For gameplay, it's even cooler: you wait breathlessly as soldiers walk right beside you, unaware you're blended into the floor.

All told, we were disappointed to not see anything new but happy to get another stab as putting Snake through his paces.